One more to go!!

Ugh.. one more exam to go.. I really hope I pass this one. Out of all the exams I have written, this is the one where I felt the least prepared.. which is probably true, considering that I didn't take a single day off from work to study. Actually, I haven't even finished reading all the chapters yet and the exam is in 5 hours..

Home-Cooked Meals

Last night I had the pleasure of enjoying some home-cooked meals with some friends. We even had wine and dessert afterwards! There was so much food.. It sparked my interest in trying to cook at least one decent meal for myself every week. Given my current job situation, I barely have time to eat. Most of the time I eat something quick and healthy (or unhealthy, depending on how you look at it). In fact, I often go to sleep feeling hungry, but I still try to stick to my "no eating after 9pm" rule..

Today I went shopping (window shopping, I can't afford much in this city even with my salary). Then trekked all the way to Ikea to look at a few things, and decided that I definitely need to plan better before venturing all the way out there next time. For fun, I decided to take the bus home from there. It turned out to be much better than I thought, only having to change buses twice. On the other hand, it DID take 2 hours to get home..

Christmas Party

Recovering from my sickness, I was back at work yesterday. I also went to the Christmas Party hosted by the big boss of my desk. For my career sake, I should really show up even if I wasn't feeling too well. It turned out to be quite an affair! Located in the middle of the "upper-class" party district, it was a cozy house/bar famed for their cocktails (both in selection and taste). Several funny stories occurred throughout the night, and I became the topic of discussion during work today!

The CEO of the company was there, talking with my boss. The rumor going around is that I "disrupted" their conversation, when in fact, it was the CEO who saw me and initiated the conversation with me. (I just happened to be there at the right time) Many other seniors on the desk were shocked that I made such a bold move, and everybody thought I was insane (and also ending my career prematurely). Furthermore, I went and talked to the Global Head of my division, as well as the VP of the group company. The conversations all revolve around how I was the new graduate hired onto the desk, and the fact that the Global Head was also an engineer (from Queens), we had a common bond between us. He noticed the iron ring on my finger when I shook his hand (and likewise, I noticed his too). In fact, during all those conversations, my boss introduced me in such a positive light that I almost felt that he was saving his face more than mine. Afterall, it was him who decided to hire me all the way from Canada to work here..

Was it a bad move? Did I really end my career by being friendly? Was I supposed to have stopped talking, turned my back, and walked away?

Only time will tell..

Emotion and Body

Does the emotional state of a person affect the person's body state also? I cannot believe how quickly my body had deteriorated from the beginning of full-time work. Perhaps it also had something to do with my relocation, or the fact that I eat 1.5 meals a day, or I work 14 hours a day including weekends..

Or maybe my emotional state is making my immune system weak.. I have no idea anymore.

Almost Died..

Literally, I think I almost died last night. So I was still terribly ill last night, and the doctor didn't exactly give me the best news yesterday during my visit. Apparently I was heaving and squealing a lot when I breathe, and he suspects that my asthma is about to make its return to haunt me. Furthermore, my chronic stomach pains are not exactly a good sign that my body is in good shape. As I was trying to sleep last night, I felt a sudden lack of air. I tried breathing harder but my throat just clamped up. I had no idea what I could do.. I felt like I was going to die that instant..

Then I remembered that in this situation, relaxing my body is the best way to release the tension in the muscles. So I tried to stay at calm as possible - knowing full well that if the symptoms continued, I could have fainted and lost consciousness, potentially losing oxygen to the brain, etc. I must have been knocked out for a moment, because what I remembered next was breathing heavily but feeling much better.

Which explains why I'm at home today. I haven't been this sick since a few years ago, where I cannot get rid of my sickness within 24 hours. Ugh.. just hope I get better soon so I can get back to work.. sitting at home all day is booooooring.

I can hear again..

I cannot believe how loud things are! After a little less than two years of semi-hearing abilities, restoring to full hearing capacity is overwhelming. Today's visit to the GP was a pleasant one. After all those ear drop sessions every night before bed, my hearing became a bit better throughout the week. I'm not sure whether it is because of the drop or because I had gotten used to the muffled sounds.

In any case, it turned out that I had an abnormal amount of ear wax. Eww. Disgusting. The good doctor syringed my ears with his water-pressurized device, and now I can hear perfectly. More than perfectly, actually. When he was done, I could hear my shirt ruffle against itself, and every sound is exemplified ten times. I can even hear my own typing now, which I had not been able to before. Perhaps it's been too long since I've had normal hearing, or perhaps I had just gotten used to the sub-par hearing.

Everything sounds so loud now, it's almost giving me a headache.. which is another reason that I'm home at the moment. I was sent home by my boss because I was "dangerous to the others on the desk". I have been sick for the past little while, and today seems to be the worst so far. I'm not sure why I have been so weak ever since relocating to London, but I sure hope my body gets better soon..

Time Flies

Would have been a milestone today.. but now it's a non-event. Life changes too fast for my liking.

Lend me your ears!

I literally would like to borrow somebody's ears right now - mine are deaf! Okay, not exactly deaf, but hard of hearing. It actually happened back about one and a half year ago, when suddenly my right ear started to "lose hearing". The sound became quite muffled and faint. Being a regular university student (and according to my friends, "a typical male"), I refused to get it treated and thought it would "go away in a few days". Well it ended up lasting this whole time. I have trained myself to rely on my left ear for most of the hearing, and although it took a few days, I eventually adapted to it and felt there was no need to have it checked.

Then the inevitable happened - my hearing in the left ear started to become muffled and faint yesterday. All I can hear is ringing and "silence", which is sort of like standing in an empty cave with the wind blowing. I often had to ask people to repeat themselves, and couldn't hear anything around me quite as well.

I have decided that it is quite dangerous to my health (the fact that a car can be coming towards me and I can't hear it), so I went to visit the GP today. He told me to get some ear drops and see him again next week.

Now I know how it feels not to be able to hear.. talk about perspectives!

Weekday outings

So right after I complained about not having a life here in London, I went out both nights for the past two days. On Wednesday night I attended a friend's band show. It was held at a club near King's Cross Station, and was held by various Chinese student associations around London. My friend played in two bands, both appeared at the beginning at the show. He basically played nine songs, non-stop.. and his drumming skills were excellent! Although he mentioned to me later that he felt that he made many major mistakes, it wasn't noticeable to the untrained eyes and I thought it was amazing nevertheless.

Thursday night was a dinner gathering followed by some kareoke action - yes, I found kareoke in London of all places. It wasn't ANYTHING I was used to, of course. It was pretty much what I used to do at home, playing videos on my TV and singing to it. It was really fun singing with a bunch of friends, especially when we've all longed for a bit of singing relief.

As a result of those outings, I have been getting sub-minimal sleep for the past few nights. On the other hand, I think being away from work and enjoying company of friends gave me the energy to move forward. Perhaps this is the balance I need to strike in order to stay sane..

Lack of update = Lack of life

It's been a week since I last wrote! To start off, I'm sick (once again) and hence, I'm still home in my jammies trying to fight the flu. This is also the reason how I found time to post this up. The week basically consisted of work, and more work, and a bit of time off during the weekend because the office building was closed for maintenance. Work had been absolutely draining - the learning curve is steeper than I could ever imagine! The amount of reading and learning I do is equivalent to being in school the whole day.

Other than that, I really have not done much outside of work. I leave for work in the darkness of the earning morn, I return home in the darkness of the late night. I fix something quick to eat, and then I sleep. The routine repeats itself.

On Saturday I went to visit a friend after shopping in Chinatown. Together we went to meet up with her friends near the waterfront for a drink, and found out that this city does not have a nightlife, even on Saturday, if you are away from where the mainstream "party" district is. We were literally forced out the door at 11:30pm. The night was still young! Unfortunately a few of them lived quite far, so we called it an early night.

Last but not least, I *really* need to get some sleep. One reason why I think I'm sick is the lack of sleep and the irregular eating patterns..